Eagles defeat Argentina for second consecutive Plate

GLASGOW, Scotland – The Men’s Eagles Sevens came from behind in the Plate Final at Glasgow Sevens to beat Argentina 22-7 for their second Plate in two Series tournaments. Having already guaranteed core team status for next year’s IRB HSBC Sevens World Series, the Eagles played like a top team to finish the day.

Argentina took the early lead in the first minute with a try from Matias Moroni and a successful conversion from Valentin Cruz, but the Eagles put a stop to any other Argentine attacks for the rest of the match.

It took some time for the Eagles to get on the scoreboard themselves, though. As the first half clock was winding down, Folau Niua pounced on a lazy Argentine ruck to turn over possession. Andrew Durutalo picked up the loose ball as time expired in the first half and scored the try to cut the deficit to 7-5.

Durutalo’s try gave the Eagles the confidence they have shown this weekend. Nick Edwards kept the restart in play for the Eagles and followed Zach Test all the way to the try zone to receive a final pass and score. Edwards’ tournament-leading eighth try and Shalom Suniula’s conversion gave the Eagles a 12-7 lead.

Brett Thompson earned another start in the Final and worked well with Matt Hawkins on the wing to force a turnover, which set up a huge kick by Niua downfield. Test got the ball back again and set up Suniula meters away from the try zone, but an Argentine defender hassled him into dropping the ball just as he was about to touch down.

Head Coach Alexander Magleby substituted Luke Hume and he made an instant impact. Hume grabbed the ball from another successful Eagles counter ruck and made a nice spin to gain a few extra meters before offloading to Test for his fourth try of the tournament and the 17-7 lead.

Argentina had less than a minute to mount a comeback and failed to do so, with a knock on bringing the Plate Final to an end.

“We definitely tried to build off of our performance in Tokyo,” Test said. “We came out today and just wanted to play for each other. It was a very business-like mindset; we had a plan and we needed to go out and execute. Having core team status is a big weight off of our shoulders - now we can focus on playing some rugby.”

Scotland went out of Glasgow Sevens in the Bowl Semifinals and will have to play in the promotion/relegation tournament at next weekend’s Marriott London Sevens, while the Eagles will stick to the core tournament.

“For us, it’s about improvement,” Magleby said. “We’re thrilled and I’m really happy for the boys. [Test and Edwards] have been outstanding. They’ve had a lot of growth both on the field and off.”